The Defining Moment: The Straw That Stirs The Drink Of Motivational Leadership (Part One)

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com Word count: 770 Summary: Motivation is a critical aspect of leadership. But most leaders fail to realize practical processes to motivate people consistently. Here is a motivational-leadership tool to greatly increase your leadership effectiveness. The Defining Moment: The Straw That Stirs The Drink Of Motivational Leadership (Part One) by Brent Filson Decades ago, as a rifle platoon commander in the Marines, I saw leaders who could motivate troops to do extraordinary things -- and leaders who couldn't get the troops to do much at all. I wondered what was the difference between the successful and unsuccessful leaders; and if that difference be taught. Those two questions have stayed with me throughout my civilian life as I have worked with thousands of leaders worldwide for the past 21 years. Now, at last, I can say I've answered those questions. I've cracked the code. The difference between successful and unsuccessful leaders is the successful ones are able to engage in deep, human, emotional relationships with the people they lead, the unsuccessful ones don't. It's as simple as that, yet it's more complicated than you think. The power of those relationships has been demonstrated since the dawn of history. In all cultures, whenever people needed to do great things, one thing had to take place: A leader had to gather those people together and speak from the heart. In other words, deep, human, emotional relationships had to be constituted for great things to be accomplished. Look at it this way: Leaders themselves must be motivated, that's an absolute truth. If you're not motivated, you shouldn't be a leader. But the burning challenges in leadership are, Can you transfer your motivation to others so they are as motivated as you? And can you translate that motivation into great results? Great leaders successfully meet those challenges. There are three ways to transfer your motivation to others. Give them information, make sense, and make your experience their experience. The most powerful is the latter, having your experience become their experience. One way to make this happen is with the "defining moment" technique. This entails having the leader's experience become the people's experience. It can be the most effective method of all, because when the speaker's experience becomes the audience's experience, a deep sharing of emotions and ideas, a communing, can take place. Generally, people learn in two ways